Heart Mark
by spiritgirl16
Summary: AU: "You're much stronger than you think you are, Emma Parker. Trust me."-All her life Emma Parker had experienced only hardships; losing her parents at a young age and being dubbed 'Puny Parker' by her classmates and peers. When a bite from a radioactive spider leaves Emma with newfound abilities Emma must decide;Will she fall as 'Puny Parker', or will she become something more?
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-man, or anything int he franchise which includes(obviously) movies, games, comics, etc._**

 _A/n:Let's call this an experiment of sorts... with Infinity War on the horizon,I'm slowly getting back into the superhero fandom(both DC and Marvel.) And well, to commemorate it, I decided to make this._

 ** _Story Info: warning(s):_**

 _Rating: M-for language, adult situations/themes, violence/fighting/possible gore, bad guys don't always play nice and things **will** get messy!_

 _AU!In case it wasn't obvious, overall the story will contain elements from both the films and comics(maybe not Homecoming though, sorry fans!) And obviously there will be some OOC opportunities thrown into the mix; There will be changes, some big and some not-so-big! For now, I'm gonna go with the face-claim of Lilly Collins for Emma and Alex Pettyfer for Eddie(Spoilers, they're gonna be around the same, so...), for now I hope you enjoy the prologue!_

* * *

What is a hero?

I couldn't tell you. It's not someone who has all the answer though, that's for damn sure. And I don't think it means you always win either, seeing as how there have been quite a few fights where I come out looking and feeling like complete and utter shit.

Oh right, introductions first; My name is Emma Parker-my friends call me Em – and up until a short while ago I was just a regular dork trying to navigate my way through high school. Now? I'm pretty much trying not to get killed every-time I set foot out my house. While also dealing with the usual hormonal aggression, social caste system and egotistical assholes out there.

How do I survive? Maximum effort and an over-the-top dosage of sarcasm – oh yeah. I also happened to get bit by a radioactive spider one day which wound up giving me superpowers….so there's that. Did I forget that part?

Well, no worries. I'll start from the beginning…and like any story worth telling, yes, it does involve a boy. His name was Eddie Brock.

Looking back on it, I may have had bitten off a little more than I could chew.

* * *

 _I know it's so short, I'm so mean!_

 ** _Even so, feel free to leave a review!_**


	2. The Morning Of

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-man, or anything associated with it.**

 _ **Warning(s)** :AU. Genderswapping. Possible OOC. Swearing. Adult situations/Themes. Violence/fighting/gore, Superhero business is not for the faint of heart!_

 _I will be going cast-wise with the ASM series, but will try melding in elements from the original Sam Raimi films as well along with some form the comics-mostly because there were some moments int he original three films that I did like quite a bit. I'll also be trying to show some differences for Emma to set her aside from her male counter-part._

 _Support and feedback is always welcomed and encouraged, as always! Keep story hating and flames to yourself though, nobody wants to get webbed in the_

 _Without further ado, enjoy!_

* * *

 _The Morning Of_

* * *

Albert Einstein once said: " _Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions_." Emma really wished that were true because if it was maybe she would have something to look forward to when getting out of bed every morning, but she knew better.

 _ **Beep! Beep! Beep!**_

On reflex she reached out from under her covers and smacked the snooze button, turning on her side and facing the wall of her bedroom. She thought that was the end of it… that is, until her aunt May decided to give her a little wake-up call.

"Come on, Emma! Up you get!" She cried through the door with a rapid tap. Aging had been kinder to May than most. For starters, unlike her husband's, not all of May's hair had lost its original color still retaining a deep black hue with a nice wave to it, the small touches of gray that were peeking out near her ears only really being visible when she had it up as she did now. There were a few wrinkles here and there, but all in all Emma would argue she was still pretty good-looking for her age.

"Mmmmmnnnn," came Emma's mumbled response. She burrowed further into her duvet to drown out the noise of aunt May sighing and re-enter the sweet bliss of sleep she had just come out of.

"Honestly, Em" her aunt said in exasperation. Her blue eyes held a tender affection in them only a mother would have-and to Emma, that was exactly what the older woman was to her.

"Mmmmmmnnn," Emma moaned unintelligibly again. She heard her aunt chuckle a bit before feeling a cruel rush of cold air as her cover was snatched up and away from her. Finally she sat up, shielding her eyes when they accidentally burst open being blinded by the sunlight peering in through the blinds.

"What time is it?" She slurred, looking around still half-asleep.

"Time to get up for school, now hurry or you'll miss the bus," aunt May said patiently. The elder woman looked at her niece for a moment, a fond smile flitting across her face while the younger girl yawned and stretched out her arms only to flop back down onto the bed. "Emma Parker, don't make me say it again!" May said donning her stern voice.

"Yes, Ma'am," Emma said cracking an eye open.

"Good, now I want you downstairs in ten minutes. Breakfast is ready, and you know how your uncle Ben gets when he sees a plate of sausages for the taking." Her tone did little to stifle both, her own and Emma's amusement, "lord only knows how that man loves his meat."

"I love you too aunt May!" Emma called once May had left the room.

~/~

"I worry about where that girl's head is sometimes. Twelve years of the same stop and she's still lucky to get there before it's leaving once a month." Aunt May said aloud while setting down the waffles and a bottle of syrup in front of her husband, Ben Parker. The man in his sixties wore his age well, maybe not as well as his wife, but with a full head of gray hair and no notable beer gut hanging over his belt, he figured he had little to complain about. As long as he still had May and Emma, Ben thought he had all he needed.

Still, it didn't stop one of his hands from venturing closer towards the plate of freshly cooked, meaty sausages May had set on the table.

"Benjamin Parker, don't you even think about it!" May scolded with her hands on her hips. "Remember what the doctor said? It's just waffles for you this morning."

"She takes a lot after your sister. A good-hearted girl, just… forgetful sometimes. She'll grow out of it." Ben said in response to his wife's earlier statement, giving up on the sausages for now and looking back down at the morning paper propped up on his lap. "Speaking of...think she remembered what today is?"

~/~

Emma smiled checking herself over in her bathroom mirror. It's not that Emma saw herself as ugly per se, but more so just that she didn't really measure up in terms of today's beauty standards. Emma's hair was a soft brown, like the bark of an oak tree, not dark but simply gentle in any light. Without red or golden hues it reminded her of her favorite childhood teddy bear and was the perfect contrast to her teal sweater – just like dry pebbles before the tide washes in to make them shine. She didn't like wearing contacts too much; always afraid she would poke her own eye out. She threw on a pair of faded, slightly nicked jeans to finish the look before heading for the door.

Bumping her knee in a moment of forgetfulness, prompting a hiss of "damn it!" to escape her lips, she grabbed her thick-framed glasses off the sink. Just as she passed her bedroom window, she paused again chancing a quick glance up and seeing across the yard where a wired fence separated them on ground-level, she saw a boy. Her neighbor, Eddie Brock.

Her heart fluttered a bit, not really able to see him too clearly from such a distance. Still, he was...civil with her, which was more than most at their school. Not to mention he was one of the few to not address her as 'Puny Parker'; which actually made her feel normal for a change.

He talked to her once before, though it was a few years back now. A short and sweet conversation really nothing to brag about, but still she found herself stealing glances whenever she could since then.

At first glance, he was an enigma to her; creating a tingling sensation that reverberated through her entire being like the sound-waves of a two-pronged instrument when hit stirring feelings inside her that truthfully she didn't think she was capable of having. She tilted her head curiously like a bird studying a shiny piece of broken glass; mesmerized by its beauty and rarity watching him eventually move out of her line of sight.

"Emma! Hurry down, Breakfast is getting cold." Uncle Ben called, ripping Emma from her brief moment of silence.

"C-coming!"

Emma hurried down the stairs with a slight bounce in her step before taking her seat at the table, across from her aunt and beside her uncle, sending them both a bright, happy smile. "Thanks for the food aunt May," she said beaming. It was moments like these that Emma secretly liked the best, her and the few people she had left that were precious in her life all sitting around smiling together.

"Emma sweetheart, what were you doing up so late last night?" May asked, a glint of worry shone in her eyes. "I didn't see your light go off until, I think about three in the morning."

Emma looked up with a mouthful of waffles and syrup just starting to drip down her chin; she hastily reached for a napkin not wanting another lecture should any get on her shirt.

"I was brushing up on some of the newest scientific breakthroughs we're gonna be going over on today's field-trip, specifically the ones involving their recombinant DNA and genome mapping departments; they're talking about a possible breakthrough in the denaturation state as well as the annealing phase, and on top of that they've developed some interesting new tech for mapping out the genomes relative to the human body. Did you know they have this cool laser that when used can – "

Emma went on and on, her explanation of all things scientific and great going a little over both her relative's heads, though neither could find the heart to dissuade the young girls enthusiasm.

" – and then I played a little D&D online in one of the chat-rooms, I upgraded my warlock a bit more." Emma finished barely pausing for a breath between bites as she took another forkful of food. Her chewing stalled slightly when she saw the glazed expressions of her aunt and uncle. "Uh, is...something wrong?"

Before either of them could answer a loud honking noise drew Emma's attention towards the front door. "Please tell me that wasn't the bus..." she muttered, hearing the sound of brakes in the distance. She propelled herself up and towards the door, grabbing her backpack off the rack in the process.

"Bye Aunt May, bye Uncle Ben I love you!" The door slammed shut after those words.

Emma ran as fast as her legs would carry her, turning the corner just as the bus started to pull away from the curb. "Crap," she muttered wishing more than anything she had taken that cardio tip from the coach a little more seriously.

"Hey wait! Stop the bus!"

~/~

The bus tires screeched like a dying owl. Eddie almost winced, rubbing his ears in discomfort but keeping his gaze down, scribbling away at a slightly crumpled piece of paper. He didn't even notice when another body slid into the seat beside him, occupying it with a triumphant grin.

"Hey, whatcha workin' on there?" Eddie didn't even bother to look up. Instead heaving a sigh because 1) Math was never his strong suit, and 2) His uncle would probably kick his ass-well, maybe just give another long-winded lecture-if he didn't keep up his grades.

"Homework," he said speaking in clipped tones. "I didn't get a chance to finish it last night."

The boy – Eddie could tell by the familiar sounding voice-let out a groan with his head hitting against the back of the vinyl seat.

"Ah shit, I knew I forgot something..." Eddie's eyes flitted to meet his for a moment before shifting back onto his paper. "Hey Eddie, don't suppose you could-"

"No." Eddie said, blunt as ever.

And just like that, the conversation ended between them, Eddie flashing the other boy a pointed look just for good measure.

"Aw hey dude, check it out!" Flash hollered from the seat behind him, snickering some while he peered out the window. He hit his hand against Eddie's shoulder, his next words barely registering in Eddie's ears "isn't that Parker?"

"No way, she missed the bus again?" Another student groaned.

"Ugh, what a loser!" The girl who had taken the seat beside Flash – Liz Allen, if Eddie remembered her correctly – spoke with a roll of her eyes, following Flash's example along with several others and peering out the windows.

"Look at Puny Parker run!" One of the boys that followed Flash around added, snorting in laughter.

Eddie didn't budge, his eyes flicking up for a split second while pursing his lips. He didn't really _care_ about Parker, but an uncomfortable pang of pity wormed its way into his gut nevertheless. He ignored it, the feeling steadily growing stronger as Flash and the others continued laughing.

Thankfully it was put to rest when a familiar voice carried through the crowd, coming from near the front of the bus, "excuse me I think they said there's a student trying to get on?" The voice was polite yet firm, belonging to one Gwen Stacy; the girl was like a walking personification of Barbie, if Barbie had more personality and better choice in clothing; her hair was so blonde that it was almost white. It fell in a straight line midway down her back, absolutely flat and shining in the bright morning light. Her eyes which she had taken off of the book she was currently reading brought to mind the forget-me-not paint of a cottage door, yet bright, shining as it did under a soft morning light.

"Can you stop the bus please?" Gwen added a moment later when the driver didn't hit the brakes immediately. Even with her father as the chief of police, Gwen herself wasn't someone anyone wanted to mess with, being the captain of the debate team as well as the head of several other major academic and even a few female sports teams.

In the few sparse seconds in which Gwen first mentioned the situation to the driver, Eddie had already left his seat not wanting to deal with such cumbersome events so early in the morning. "Hey," he said giving the driver a tap on the shoulder, "just stop the bus."

Finally the driver relented, and Eddie turned on his heel to go back to his seat. He didn't really respond to Gwen's momentary look of gratitude, nor did he stick around long enough for the panting Emma to stagger on, poking her head up and just missing him.

"S-sorry," Emma rasped sounding truly repentant. "I-I didn't mean to-"

Then the spitballs came, cutting off her words of apology and earning a few quiet snickers from her peers.

From her seat up front Gwen turned, obviously looking for whoever shot them but having no luck.

"Yeah, yeah it's fine Parker. Just take your seat," The driver said. Emma managed a small smile of gratitude despite the others waspish tone, she wasn't going to let it bother her too much today.

Hefting her backpack onto her shoulder, Emma started to make her way towards the back of the bus looking for a seat. Her gaze lingered for a moment longer when Gwen Stacy smiled at her – Chocolate brown meeting cottage blue-offering Emma a tentative, friendly smile. Emma returned it with a shyer one, shuffling along feeling a bit saddened the seat beside Gwen wasn't free.

"Uh excuse me, is that seat-"

The girl whom Emma was speaking to didn't even spare her a glance. She shoved her books down onto the empty seat beside her covering them protectively before poor Emma could even finish and making something inside of Emma wither just a little bit.

"Yeah, didn't think so," Emma said in a voice too quiet to be a whisper. She moved further down, not liking how she was getting closer to where Flash was.

"Um, is this –"

The rather robust boy who had been snacking on something – maybe a doughnut? – in secret reacted quickly, just as Emma noticed the empty seat beside him. He threw his backpack up onto the seat effectively diminishing Emma's hope a little more.

"Okay then, thanks anyway." Emma whispered, her smile turning a bit more strained.

Another refusal to give up the free spot beside them and Emma felt her chest tighten a bit, the fluttering sensation from earlier in the morning coming back only a tad stronger when she looked forward and saw Eddie sitting in the next row of seats. His face no longer obscured by curtains or too much distance, unkempt strands of buttermilk blonde glinting from the light of the sun being complimented by his warm golden-tan skin tone and athletic physique, thankful he wasn't looking directly at her for the moment lest she be paralyzed to the spot.

It was only a few seconds, barely even that really. Still, in the next moment Emma saw his head snap up feeling someone's eyes on him – _her_ eyes -meeting her stare for a fleeting moment; His eyes were as blue as the azure sky, flecked with traces of forest-green. Adjusting her thick-framed glasses she immediately looked away, trying and failing to hide the rising blush on her cheeks as she did so.

Only she missed the foot jutting out suddenly, right up until it collided with her own and sent her crashing face-first on the floor.

Everyone burst out laughing, save for a few – Gwen, Eddie and a certain redhead sitting close to Flash – while poor Emma's glasses went skittering off a good distance away towards the very back of the bus. She suddenly missed her bed, missed her room and most of all – Emma missed her aunt and uncle.

Still, Emma wouldn't give them the satisfaction. So she steeled herself a little, ignoring the slight stinging sensation lingering in her eyes and reaching for her glasses, carefully putting them back on her face just as Flash decided to call out to her.

"Need a little help there, Puny Parker?"The nickname had a few kids snickering quietly again. And Emma couldn't help the flash of anger she felt, why did Flash have to make her life so hard all the time? What did she ever do to him?

"Nope, not at all." she said quickly, mentally patting herself for putting on a brave face and keeping the quiver out of her voice. She stood slowly, seeing a certain blonde from the corner of her eyes and feeling a small little spark of courage from somewhere deep inside. "I could do this all day long."

The smile melted off Flash's face in an instant, Emma's lack of frustration jarring him slightly.

In the end Emma was able to find a seat, one next to the very red-haired girl that was amongst the minority not amused by Flash's antics. She looked familiar to Emma, though she couldn't quite place why.

"Hi," The girl said exuding an air of confidence and spunk Emma had only ever dreamed of possessing. "I'm Mary Jane Watson – MJ for short – and you're...Emma, yeah? Emma Parker?"

Emma stilled for a moment, a bit caught off guard by the sudden introduction. Meanwhile Mary Jane, rather MJ, sat with an expectant look on her face. She was smiling prettily, like one of the supermodels on the commercials during Emma's morning cartoons.

"Uh...y-yeah," she finally said awkwardly grabbing MJ's hand, albeit a little quickly and forceful, almost yanking the other girl some.

MJ's smile faltered, but it was only for a moment. Seeing the other girls brightened face – like someone who had just scored the winning ticket of the lottery – telling her she had made the right call by inviting her to sit; cementing the fact when she introduced herself and started a conversation. She may not have been as smart as know-it-all Gwen Stacy, but...the smaller girl looked like she could use a friend.

' _High school's a bitch, after all_.' MJ thought, taking a great amount of pleasure in the warning look Flash threw her, asking the silent question, 'what-the-hell-are-you-doing?' Well frankly, after their break-up he was a bit of an arse to her anyway.

"Oh hey," MJ said pointing at something over Emma's shoulder, poking out of Emma's bag from when she fell. Emma followed the other girls line of sight, blushing some when she realized it was her copy of The Lord of the Rings, the hardback edition of course. "I didn't think you'd be into that, a friend of mine told me about it-said it was a good book too-although I'm not too sure I remember..."

MJ took a moment, thinking and trying to recall something. Meanwhile Emma took the lapse in conversation to look over the other girl and couldn't help the small budding of inferiority that stemmed just from looking at her with her scorching and fiery red hair that looked burning to the touch. Orange sunset locks, capturing the light in vibrant ruby hues, flowing in gentle, warm curls of lava to her mid-back. Her eyes were a soft washed out green, like a favorite sweater of Emma's that's been washed too many times.

The girl was beautiful. And though she was a bit ashamed by it, it made Emma wonder why she was risking possible social acceptance by talking to _her_ of all people.

"– Or you know what? Maybe it was that other series-yeah I think it was; the one about angels and warlocks and a bunch of other stuff," MJ droned on oblivious that Emma wasn't even fully listening. It was fine though, as Emma wasn't even aware she had begun talking again. They both were a little... _forgetful_... not that Emma minded anyway.

"Oh my gosh!" MJ suddenly exclaimed, her hand touching Emma's arm in a moment of excitement. "That reminds me of this one time when my friends and I were heading up to this camp..."

Emma listened, idly wondering if this was how it was for aunt May and uncle Ben when she talked about science; if so, it certainly explained the vacant stares from earlier in the morning.

When Emma suddenly cut in, still smiling with an innocent, "by the way what did you think of the homework assignment?" All conversation from MJ stopped abruptly, her green eyes slowly turning wide with a look of undisguised horror.

"We had homework?"

Emma was glad to have made a new friend somehow but how could MJ possibly think clothes were more important than biology? Or science for that matter? She also didn't understand when MJ muttered something about hating math most of all, math was easy.

~/~

The bus screeched to a halt outside the large, slightly intimidating – in Emma's opinion – brick stoned building that was Midtown High. From her spot beside Emma, MJ let out a soft ' _yes_!' of triumph having scribbled in the last bit of homework just as they pulled up front, thanks for Emma's assistance that was one less thing she had to worry about! MJ didn't understand all of Emma's explanation on things, only enough to know that she was definitely getting higher than her C average, which was great news to her.

"Emma, I think I love you," MJ joked as they started filing out of their seats to head inside.

Before Emma could respond properly though, Flash made his presence known by slamming into her with an unnecessary amount of force might she add. Emma hit the ground hard, for the second time in a row that day.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" MJ's shout of fury came, all of it directed at a smirking Flash.

"What, not my fault I didn't see her there. She's just so _puny_ ," Flash added earning a few snickers from the students behind him. MJ however, was not about to let the issue be dropped so easily, a few of the onlookers whispering how she looked ready to slap someone.

And she probably would have too, were it not for a certain 'puny' girl getting back up and grabbing onto the other girls wrist not wanting someone to get in trouble for her sake.

"It's fine MJ, just leave it for now," she kept her voice low, frowning some because she hadn't seen where her glasses skittered off to this time and now she was without them. Sure, she couldn't see all that well _with_ them, but not having them at all was worse…

"Pinhead!" MJ spat before turning away, not the least bit intimidated by Flash or his status as the star player of their basketball team.

Both girls left, Emma more reluctantly just because of her glasses. Maybe if she asked, they would let her back on to look? Only she wouldn't have to, missing the hand that plucked a pair of thick-framed glasses off the ground before his shoe could smash them in a moment of carelessness.

"Yo Eddie, you comin' or what bro?" Flash yelled hopping off the bus with a smug look of triumph.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Eddie responded, though not nearly as loud as Flash. Taking a moment to look at the pair of thick-framed glasses he almost stepped on remembering the girl they belonged to was that Parker chick.

He recalled the way she stared at him while trying to find a seat. It wasn't for long thankfully, but... she looked so intriguing, reminding him of when he first moved in and overheard what he later learned was the girl living next door shouting something about having seen an angel; she _was_ kind of a dork, but that isn't always a bad thing.

"I'll just put them in the lost and found," he reasoned to himself walking off the bus. "She's bound to find them there."

He walked off towards the office with a sigh.

Unfortunately for Emma, things weren't all that better inside the school for her either. Heading towards the office to see if maybe someone turned in her glasses, she was blocked by a familiar head of beach blonde hair and sneering, glossy pink lips; Liz Allen. Another bane of her existence, albeit a far more vocal one.

"Well, well, if it isn't _puny Parker_ ," behind her the two other girls laughed. Emma wasn't in the mood, but she knew better than to try and ignore Liz; that usually ended with Flash doing something earlier in the day to avenge his 'lady friend'.

"Hi Liz," Emma said going for the nice approach again. It never worked.

"Whatever," the other girl said brushing off the greeting. "What was up with you looking at Eddie today?"

"W-what?" ' _S-she saw that_?'

At that moment Emma wanted to crawl into a dark place and hide, settling for averting her eyes to the floor. She shifted her feet awkwardly, not understanding why Liz sounded so angry when they didn't even talk. "Um, uh th-that was..."

"Um, uh it was a _mistake_!" Liz snapped, losing the sneer and donning a hateful glare. "What you think just because he has the bad luck of being your neighbor he wants to somehow be your friend?"

The way she said it brought tears to poor Emma's eyes, hiding them by refusing to look up.

"Get a clue, Parker." Liz lowered her voice now seeing that there was a teacher nearby, "You're a freak and you _always_ will be; Eddie's better off without scum like you."

That hit home. More than it should have, leaving Emma rooted to the spot even as the bell rang to signal the start of first period.

"...I'm not a freak." Emma finally said, all alone in the halls. Her voice barely reaching over a whisper, "I'm not."

She continued walking. The day had just started, and Emma was already left feeling like shit, she could only hope things got better once they left for Oscorp.

She had to hurry so she didn't miss the bus.

* * *

 _Even though I did try and describe everyone in terms of looks, I figured just in case here's a roster of who I think would play each character if it were an actual movie:_

 **Emma Parker-Lilly Collins**

 **Eddie Brock-Alex Pettyfer**

 **Gwen Stacy-Emma Stone(I love her!)**

 **Mary Jane(MJ)-Holland Roden**

 **Eugene 'Flash' Thompson-Chris Zylka**

 _Review. Share your thoughts!_


	3. Fleeting Glances

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-man.**

 _A/N: We have the introduction of Harry in this chapter, and not gonna lie-I found it incredibly hard as to who I thought might work out better in terms of capturing both Harry's personality and look-wise, I was kind of leaning towards Dane Dehaan, but then thought 'nah, since this Harry will kind of incorporate both aspects of the different versions of harry I figured I'd go the more unconventional route and pick someone entirely new._

 _Also it goes without saying I think at this point, but Eddie's backstory is somewhat different here. More on that as the story progresses though._

 _Also, huge thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows, they mean A LOT!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Fleeting Glances_

* * *

Emma was still recovering from Liz's harsh words to her when she turned the corner, intent on entering the office to inquire if anyone turned in her glasses, though with how her day was going so far she wasn't holding her breath.

She was immensely thankful for the teacher and one of their chaperone's for the trip, a Mr. Brunner. Usually identifiable by his gray thinning hair and favorite tweed jacket which Emma heard a few kids comment smelled like roasted coffee beans. He gave her roughly five minutes, saying how good it was she was one of his favorite students, resulting in a few more sneers being thrown her way.

It wasn't Emma's fault she liked science. Besides, being on good terms with all the teachers and administrators wasn't really much to boast about these days, having no one her own age to talk with had her feeling very lonely. Pushing the growing pang of sadness away she forced it down, turning another corner.

"-on the bus. Figured they might belong to someone." A voice was saying-it was definitely male-sounding oddly familiar in Emma's ears glancing up while holding back a sniffle. Her feet skidded to a halt, and she nearly tripped with how fast she threw herself behind the wall.

Her heart started racing.

"Oh well thank you very much for finding them." The receptionist was saying, offering an appreciative smile towards the blonde standing on the other side of the desk holding a pair of familiar thick-framed glasses and Emma resisted the urge to thunk her head back against the wall because damn it all, of course _he_ had to be the one to find her glasses. And right after her encounter with Liz too.

A part of her didn't fully understand why she was hiding, what was the big deal? The glasses were hers. And so what with whatever Liz says, right?

Biting her lip Emma risked a small peek out from her corner; Eddie was just turning to leave, barely sparring a glance at the clock to check the time as he did so. Emma pressed her back against the wall once more, breathing out a sigh of relief; she didn't want any more trouble.

"Thank you..."she mouthed to no one in particular before straightening herself and turning the corner.

Only she felt herself hit another wall, this one feeling not quite as tough as the cold brick material of the other. Rubbing her nose she was barely able to bite back the small curse that almost slipped from her lips muttering a weak "ow..." instead. The confusion slowly gave way to shock, then horror.

"Sorry," said Eddie dismissively, his deep baritone voice making her ear drums ring a little in glee, looking her in the eye for the second time that day; chocolate peering into the sky, flecked with traces of forest-green.

The moment was over and done with as quickly as it came, with Eddie sidestepping her and quickening his pace some to get to class.

Emma watched him go with a strange feeling of disappointment, similar to how she felt when reading one of her superhero comics.

Shaking the thought off Emma stepped into the office, offering a tentative smile. "Hello uh," she drummed her fingers nervously while she spoke, "I was wondering if maybe anyone turned in a pair of glasses? I...kind of lost mine back on the bus..." She said, her smile turning sheepish.

"Oh yes actually, a nice young man just turned in a pair-he said he found them on the bus." The receptionist smiled, reaching over towards a bin of miscellaneous items and placing a pair of thick-framed lenses on the counter in front of Emma. "He said he wasn't sure who they belonged to, are these it dear?"

"Oh yes!" Emma said happily, almost dropping them in her hurry to put them on again. "Thank you so much."

Maybe this day wasn't turning out to be so bad after all.

Throwing another quick thanks over her shoulder, Emma went hurrying off to class. With any luck maybe she could find that MJ girl from earlier and have a place to sit, although she'd still somewhat prefer someone who she could actually talk to-MJ wasn't too into science, or anything scholastic really-she figured she would take what she could get.

She paused suddenly, a brief mental recollection of Eddie in the hallway surging to the front of her mind. She frowned, not understanding her own fascination with him, both from earlier in the morning as well as now.

Deciding she would focus more on it later she went on to check her camera she kept stashed away in her backpack, wanting to make sure she had her film and everything ready. If she was lucky she'd be able to get some really good pictures today, though the staff for the school paper told her there had to be at least one student present in the shot, otherwise it wouldn't count as relevant news.

"I wonder if MJ would be willing to pose for a few…?" Emma started to mutter to herself, checking the different settings. "I wonder what the lighting will be like….I should probably use a wider lens for better coverage..." She almost missed the way to her class, barely glancing up to see the door number.

She tucked her camera away for now, walking on in-

-and immediately getting another spitball to the face.

Letting her shoulders slump, she heaved out a sigh. Flash's voice being heard from the other side of the room. "He shoots, he scores!"

Emma barely even looked at him, instead looking around and noticing the teacher was gone- _he must have stepped out for a few minutes-_ and that a majority of the students were now snickering quietly. A few of them throwing her heated glares-mainly Liz and her 'girl crew'-while others only laughed.

It was always like this. Whenever the teachers had their backs turned, or stepped out of the room, Emma was at the mercy of her peers.

Most of the damage being instigated by Flash or Liz, with their cronies quick to follow and please, then of course by that point the majority of students would join in the mocking of their classmate. And really Emma couldn't blame them, heck she'd probably be no different if she weren't the one being ostracized everyday. She just wish she knew the reason.

"Eddie dude, where'd you go earlier?" Flash asked in a surprisingly low voice after becoming bored with Emma's lack of reaction for the moment, instead leaning towards Eddie who was sitting with his hood up and hands in his pockets not being one to get involved in the commotion. "Saw you heading towards the office, everything alright man?"

Eddie cleared his throat a moment later and Emma idly wondered if he was trying to nap or something, watching the boy rub at his face in a slight show of consternation. "Yeah, no, everything's fine. I just uh," Emma tensed wondering if he was about to try and turn Flash back on her by saying she saw him, "I got a call from my uncle is all."

Relief washed over her, but she kept it hidden lest one of the other kids be given more of a reason to pick on her.

She drifted in and out of different points in their conversation, mildly surprised when Flash actually started smiling and laughing at a few points. Eddie's answers were mostly short and blunt responses, only answering Flash's inquiries in the most vague way and never asking his own. Some of the things they were talking about just went straight over Emma's head, moreover it further piqued her intrigue regarding Eddie, a few of their words standing out to her.

By the time the teacher came back into the room, Emma was left pondering several small clippings of conversation she overheard. One in particular making her wonder. Something about his uncle, at least that's what she thought she heard.

' _How the heck do you hear neon?_ '

Eddie was more of an enigma than she originally thought, or so it seemed.

~/~

Upon their arrival Emma couldn't resist gawking slightly at the marvel that was the Oscorp building, never having gotten as close to it as she was right now.

It was definitely big, she recalled reading that it housed over eight-hundred floors worth of innovation; Over eight-hundred floors of scientific discovery waiting to be explored, with world renowned scientists working around the clock on all the latest breakthroughs. Emma peered way up towards the top of the building, just barely able to make out a series of satellite dishes spinning around.

' _I wonder if those are used for anything of significance_?' She pondered before shrugging, trailing after her class.

She had thankfully been able to take a seat beside MJ, the red-haired girl once more expressing gratitude over Emma's help with her homework going on to say how even her teacher was impressed when she managed to pull out enough points to land MJ her first ever B. Once that was out of the way however, MJ was done talking about school, moving onto other subjects outside of Emma's comfort zone.

"You know, I really wish there was a way to increase our cute guy ratio," MJ commented offhandedly with her green eyes doing a sweep of their gathered classmates on the front steps and frowning. "I mean most of the halfway decent lookers are either as stupid as Flash or as hopeless as, well….er..." She trailed off, her eyes stealing a small glance towards Emma as she spoke before trailing off.

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked, missing the other girls stare.

"Nevermind." MJ said heaving a sigh, turning her eyes forward again.

Emma blinked for a moment, trying to wrap her head around MJ's odd behavior but with no luck. The teacher's voice snapping her from her thoughts.

"Attention Midtown High seniors, as a reminder we are special guests here, nothing more." He said shooting a few of the students more pointed looks," anything broken or damaged by you will also be paid for by _you_ -rather, your parents for some. To avoid this please remember, no touching of the machinery or equipment unless given explicit permission to do so, and of course the golden rule of wherever the group goes you go as well." He finished, looking over each students face to make sure the message was received loud and clear.

His gaze stopped on a certain group of boys up front, too busy playing hackey-sack to bother listening; Flash and some of his cronies. "Gentlemen, care to repeat what I just said?" Mr. Brunner asked, snatching the hackey-sack out of midair with an annoyed sigh.

A few snickers rippled through the crowd and Emma was glad someone other than her was receiving their just deserts, even if it was severely less than what she endures. When her gaze fell a little off to the side she noticed Eddie, lingering more towards the back seeing his own gaze flick up to meet hers feeling a lump in her throat.

' _Is...is he looking at me?_ ' She thought. Just as she debated waving at him, a shoulder bumped against her own and a muttered "sorry" reached her ears during which Bill Connors went breezing by her calling out, "hey Eddie, wait up!"

The two walked off with the group, Bill playfully jabbing the other, "dude would it kill you to wave once in a while? I almost missed you!"

"I was looking right at you," was Eddie's flippant response.

Emma sighed, she felt like such a freak. ' _And the day's back to sucking...great.'_ She thought noticing the spot beside her was empty as well, meaning MJ had gone ahead with the rest of their class too.

She hurried after them, looking down while she fumbled with her camera's settings trying to set the lens filter while she ran passing the huge black Rolls Royce that pulled up to the front of the steps.

~/~

"Welcome home sir."

The teen being addressed only scoffed, barely glancing out the window when they came to a slow stop near the steps. "This hasn't been my home in years," he said with an almost twisted smile looking towards the elder man sitting beside him with touches of gray in his thinning hair. The boy's own appearance surprisingly reminiscent of his father's in his youth, Harry Osborn hated the reminder; Same warm chestnut hued hair, an under tone of red woven right into the brown. His skin tone has taken on more of a latte tan color nowadays, a testament to his improved health over the last few years. He was at the very least thankful to have inherited his mother's eyes instead; a brilliant shining hazel.

Resting his head against the back of the leather seat, he dreaded the thought of going inside and actually facing his father. He still didn't quite understand why he was suddenly being brought back here when the old man had been so eager to have him shipped overseas in the first place? Maybe he had finally snapped, Harry mused.

"Your father will be most pleased to know you've returned," The man-one of his dad's footmen, nothing more-offered choosing to ignore Harry's tone of disdain for the moment.

"I'm sure he will." Harry said, though his words didn't at all match his tone or expression. "Well, wouldn't want to keep the good Mr. Norman Osborn waiting, now would we?" Harry threw open the door without another word, grabbing his own bag and starting his ascent up the steps.

He brushed past Emma who was a little further up, still fiddling with the camera around her neck.

Letting out an aggravated huff, Emma looked up just as he walked on by running the rest of the way to catch up with her class.

"Good day to you all, I am Dr. Connors and I will be with you for the majority of your visit here at Oscorp today." A good portion of the students eyes immediately snapped towards Billy who was unfortunately situated right beside Eddie resulting in a subtle roll of the eyes from said boy, never being one to seek out attention to begin with.

Then again he supposed it _was_ kind of a given. The two male Connors were mostly identical in the way of looks; Same Tawny-blonde hair, albeit a little more haggard looking on the older one, and the same baby-blue eyes. Even the same fair-skin tone, though on Bills dad it looked a bit more wrinkled in some areas.

"Now then, let's get right to it shall we?" Dr. Connors said, and a small part of Eddie had to resist the urge to ask how he managed to get that stump for an arm, recalling how Billy once mentioned his dad was an expert on reptiles. ' _Maybe he lost it to a Croc_?' Eddie mused silently.

"Now can any of you tell me what this might be?" He said leading them into a far-off room located somewhere in the East wing of the building. Whatever the machine was, Eddie was fairly certain it was his first time seeing one; Taking up a good chunk of space, made up of pieces of shining silver and white metal, a bunch of brass-colored knobs aligning it's sides as it puffed out a bunch of steam.

He wasn't surprised when Gwen Stacy's hand shot up, knowing the answer within seconds of the question being asked. Billy soon after her.

Surprisingly though, Dr. Connors chose to call on someone else.

"It's a heat reactor." The meek voice of Emma Parker barely carried over the entire crowd, not liking being put on the spot so abruptly.

Dr. Connors smiled, nodding. "Very good, and you are?" He went on to ask, curious as the girl looked somehow familiar to him.

"I-I'm Emma sir," was all she said before Flash interrupted by faking a cough into his fist, muttering a "puny Parker" remark that few seemed to catch. The ones that did however, started to laugh.

Eddie glanced at his friend for a moment, but said nothing. Flash only smirked while Emma's mood dampened a little more.

It wasn't long before the group started to move along, Emma still trailing more towards the back listening while MJ did most of the talking between them asking for the occasional input or such from Emma.

"-I mean, and who does that? And on a date, no less!" MJ went on saying, rolling her eyes at the memory, "and then the idiot wonders why I decided to dump him like that, I mean, come on."

"I've never been on a date." Emma admitted sheepishly, making MJ halt for a moment. The redhead slowly turning to look back at the other, "What? Like, ever?"

Emma nodded. MJ did a double-take.

"But, I mean-how did…." Mary-jane struggled for a moment trying not to come off as sounding like a total bitch. "You're in high school though, I mean, haven't you ever... _liked_ someone before?"

When Emma only stared, MJ had to resist the immense urge to face-palm. Her new friends lack of experience in things making her a bit more sympathetic, but also invoking a small pang of disbelief.

Rather than pursue the topic, Mj was actually glad-for once-Dr. Connors chose that moment to start talking again.

The group now standing in a completely different area with certain sections having the Biological hazard sign splayed across the walls.

"This is where we store our cross-genetically engineered spiders that are vital to our more recent breakthroughs regarding the cross-genetics project as a whole," Dr. Connors went on to say to the class-not that most were listening-gesturing to a glass door with the nuclear waste sign on it. "While I can't allow you any further inside, I can say that the fifteen spiders contained behind this glass wall have all been genetically altered and now house over fifteen DNA structures within their bodies-

From her spot in the crowd, Liz Allen squealed. "Ew!" Her outburst earned a stern look from both the teacher as well as the class representative, Gwen Stacy.

"-and even now, it is still not entirely known the full extent of what they can do. For instance, one of the DNA structures, that of the Delena spider, has the capabilities of jumping distances a great many times its own size in order to capture its prey." From her spot near the back MJ looked somewhat intrigued by the thought; _wouldn't that kind of be the same as flying_?

"Another more deadly example however, would be the brown recluse whose venom is known to cause the red blood cells in a persons body to burst leading to things like acute kidney injury as well as jaundice." Emma wrinkled her nose for a moment while processing this, the idea of a spider bite being able to affect the blood cells in _any_ creatures body was both fascinating and a little unsettling. "Now as for ones like the Darwin spider, which can create the strongest material made by a living organism and is also included as one of the lesser dangerous kinds."

"Each different dna structure was chosen for a specific reason, with each spider having something the others can benefit from be it in the capturing of prey, survival, or even just the day-to-day activities." Dr. Connors finished looking towards the glass door, a strange look of longing in his eyes "and hopefully in time, these tests will be able to help millions of people; whether it's an ailing patient of Parkinson's disease or even the replacement of a missing limb."

Emma's brow furrowed for a moment wondering if he was in fact referring to himself, eying the stump where one of his arms should have been.

From his spot in the crowd Billy seemed to look away, a bit troubled by his father's tone but trying hard not to show it.

"Well then, let's move on shall we?" Dr. Connors said, snapping himself from his own mental reverie before a majority of the students even noticed-save for Emma, Gwen and Billy-leading them down another hallway. "There is still much to see, so come along!" He ushered.

While the group of teens was being lead into another laboratory-like area of the building, no one noticed the intricate gleaming web being spun in one of the darkened corners of the hall; a barely visible spot of red and blue crawling along the durable strands of webbing.

After all, what was one spider out of fifteen?

' _Oh right, pictures!_ ' Emma remembered suddenly, coming to an abrupt halt and reaching for her camera. She had asked her teacher beforehand when they first started their tour, but hadn't actually been snapping any. ' _Well, better late than never_ ,' she thought loading the film and setting the shutter. Her class disappearing further down the hall without her.

' _I'll see if I can maybe get a good angle of those spiders, and then_ -'

"Whoa!" She jumped, more than a little caught off guard when she collided with someone. Her lack of coordination sent them both tumbling to the ground with little warning, The camera let off a snap, combined with the bright flash which left them both a little more disoriented.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She hurried to say, already trying to dislodge her tangled up limbs. "I was just, um-wh-what I mean is….I-I'm sorry," she repeated, blushing to the tips of her brown hair.

"No, no I'm afraid I wasn't quite looking where I was going," a smooth voice said apologetically. Emma blinked, adjusting her glasses which had fallen off during the tumble, coming face to face with someone she didn't recognize; he seemed vaguely familiar though she wasn't sure why. She didn't think she knew of anyone who wore such top-of-the-line clothing, designer jeans, a white shirt and casual dress jacket.

 _Is that silk?-_ was Emma's only thought still staring when he offered a hand to help her up. She blushed when she saw how his lips quirked, obviously not at all offended by her shameless gawking. "Uh, I-I'm sorry..." she repeated meekly, shyly taking the hand but not making proper eye-contact.

His next question caught her by surprise.

"Are you an employee here?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious. "An intern perhaps?"

Emma took a moment, clearing her throat and adjusting her thick-framed glasses before she answered. "Oh no, I um….I'm here on a field trip. Wait, aren't you….a student too?" The words were awkwardly spaced apart because the boy looked about the same age as her.

Though from his questioning, it didn't sound like he was part of her class at all.

He arched a brow at her, studying her expression for a moment seemingly wary of her reaction. "I'm sorry, do you….not know who I am?" He didn't sound too overly offended, just genuinely surprised which only made Emma feel more embarrassed.

"Uh..."Still she couldn't put a name to the face.

"Harry." He finally said, still holding her gaze with his own now looking intrigued. "And you are?"

There was no way this guy was from her class, otherwise he was being way too nice to 'Puny Parker'.

"….Emma. Emma Parker," she blinked hesitating some when he offered his hand for a shake.

"A pleasure," he said in a cordial tone. Emma nodded numbly, a bit taken aback by the stranger's politeness. A moment later and she remembered her camera, which had accidentally snapped a picture of her brief moment of embarrassment.

Looking down she felt a fresh feeling of sadness wash over her. "Oh no, no, no!" She let out a noise of frustration kneeling down and picking up what was now the two broken remnants of her camera and groaned. ' _This was a birthday present from uncle Ben_.'

Glancing down Harry saw what she was groaning over, now recognizing her as the girl he saw on the front steps as well. Realizing their fall was what broke the camera, feeling a pang of remorse worm its way into his gut. "I'm sorry, here let me give you money for a new one."

Harry was already reaching for his wallet which he kept in his back pocket, a part of him semi-relieved that the 'allowance' money his father sent every month would actually be put to good use. At least in his mind, his father would probably snap at him if he knew he was giving money out to a 'commoner' or whatever.

"Oh no I couldn't do that," Emma said quickly while he was already counting bills, and good god!- _so much money!_ -Emma had never seen so much green, let alone be so close to it. "Uh….did you rob a bank or something?"

The boy stopped counting, looking back at her with a small look of surprise. "No. why on earth would you think that?"

She wisely didn't answer this time, though the hot flush of her cheeks may have said more than words ever could.

She didn't notice the way he was staring at her, so intrigued and confused at once-similar to the look she would always give Eddie-reaching for her hand suddenly and taking it into his, gently depositing the money before folding her fingers over the bundle of bills.

"There. That should be more than enough for a new camera," Harry smiled confidently letting a beat of silence pass between them, "and dinner as well. Seven o'clock, this Saturday?"

Emma felt her brain stop working. Her mouth hanging open in what she assumed was a very unattractive manner.

"If that's a yes then how about that Italian Restaurant, the one located near the theater?" He offered, still getting no actual response.

The moment was cut short when a shout came from down the hallway.

"Parker! There you are," Mr. Brunner came jogging down the hall, looking a tad frazzled and out of breath which was when Emma finally realized the rest of her class was long gone. "Need I remind you that all students are supposed to stay with the group?"

"Oh I, w-well I was just-"

"It was my fault, I'm afraid." Harry interrupted, clearing his throat and immediately gaining the teachers attention seeing the elder male's eyebrows shoot up in a look of surprise- _well he certainly knows who I am,_ Harry mused bitterly _-_ and met it with one of his own practiced smiles of politeness.

"She was mentioning something about taking a picture when I accidentally took a bad fall and broke her camera." Harry lied smoothly, even managing to look a tad sheepish over the fake-confession. "I didn't mean to keep her, I just wanted to compensate her for it, that's all."

"Oh, yes well….I just wanted to make sure you were safe Emma, no one knew where you had gone off to after all." The teacher commented with a nod. "Now then, let's hurry back to the rest of the class, lord only knows how rowdy some of them get..."

"Well then, I'll let you go Emma." Harry said, shooting another coy smile. "Have a nice day, and I hope to see you again soon."

She watched him turn and walk away after that, following her teacher in an oddly trance-like state afterwards still holding the two broken pieces of her camera when MJ came rushing over.

"Hey there you are!" MJ then noticed the broken camera, "what happened? Did Flash-"

"It wasn't Flash." Emma cut her off.

She pursed her lips falling to the back of the group once more alongside MJ, who was looking slightly worried now.

"Is everything okay? When the teacher noticed you were missing, Eddie mentioned seeing you taking some pictures back in the hall," MJ said sparring a glance towards the mentioned boy who was having his ear yakked off by Billy Connors. "I offered to go instead, but...guess they thought I'd just ditch and play hooky somewhere."

MJ shook her head at the notion, did they really think so low of her to cut at a moments notice?

"Eddie?" Emma repeated, processing the redheads words a moment later. "Eddie did?"

"Huh, yeah. Said he saw you messing around with your camera back in the hall, why?" MJ repeated. "Something wrong with that?"

Emma frowned now, her mind going back to when she saw the boy leaving the office. He didn't even say two words to her, but he had to have known whose glasses he was dropping off, didn't he?

That strange fluttering sensation returned to her chest when she looked in his direction, increasing whenever he smiled or laughed.

"Emma, hey, everything okay in there?" MJ asked with a laugh while waving a hand in front of the other girl's face.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah no I'm fine. Just...spaced out a little bit," she muttered sheepishly tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Speaking of Eddie, you missed earlier when Liz Allen tried getting him to ask her out on a date." MJ stated, laughing all the while, oblivious to how Emma's own expression plummeted a bit.

"She got rejected, oh it was the best thing ever!" MJ said with a laugh, snapping Emma from her moment of self-pity.

"Rejected? Liz did?" Emma said, eyes wide with disbelief since she was almost certain no boy in school would pass up the chance to be around the blonde. Let alone date her.

"Yeah, she made this ugly pissed off face, and was all like ' _fine, you'll come around soon enough!_ ' and then went stomping away like a toddler," MJ said recalling the memory fondly, barely holding in her laughter all the while. "Ohh it was beautiful," the redhead said throwing an almost smug grin when said blonde girl happened to look their way.

Liz shot her a very clear ' _freak_!' stare that told Emma she should look away, but MJ only laughed brushing it off with ease.

"Dumb barbie wannabe," MJ spat under her breath rolling her eyes.

"Weren't...you and Liz friends once, back in freshman year?" Emma inquired suddenly, a sliver of memory coming to the forefront of her mind thinking back on it some more and vaguely recalling seeing MJ and Liz together on more than one occasion, laughing and gossiping. "I don't think you should laugh just cuz she got turned down."

MJ's expression soured some at the reminder of freshman year, covering it up with a smile before Emma could see. "Why? She'd do it if it were one of us I'm sure, besides," MJ stopped, nudging Emma a bit and gesturing towards where Eddie was standing a good distance away "are you seriously saying you wouldn't want that all to yourself?"

Emma's face turned a flaming red, averting her eyes at MJ's saucy tone of voice barely able to mumble out a response. "I'm not...into boys all that much. Besides, he's still a person...not a thing."

"Newsflash Em, _every_ girl is into guys." MJ thought for a moment, "well, unless you're a lesbian….or asexual, or...something of that variety." She sounded unsure, waving a dismissive hand. "Anyway, point is just because you don't _think_ you are, doesn't mean you're not interested."

"Now, watch and _learn_." MJ said, sauntering off in the same direction she was looking towards a moment ago, right up to Eddie.

Emma blinked watching MJ smile prettily, batting her lashes which caused maybe two or more of the surrounding jocks to stare, laughing sweetly before leaning in and touching Eddie's arm-only to be shrugged off almost immediately. She blinked clearly not expecting the reaction while Eddie said something to her which made her smile melt a little. Then, as if on cue, the teacher came walking back over.

"Students, gather around if you would please!"

"How did it go?" Emma asked once MJ was standing back by her side: the redhead looked to be concentrating over something deeply. "MJ?" she tried again.

"He's playing hard to get," was all MJ said. Her tone somewhat clipped. "It's fine though," she said with a small flip of her hair brushing it off, "this was only the first round."

Emma thought for a moment, feeling a tad conflicted as part of her wanted to help her new friend but somewhere deep down she wasn't entirely on board with the idea of MJ talking more to Eddie. "Maybe you could ask about neon?" Emma offered, wanting to be helpful.

"Neon?" MJ repeated, confused.

"I heard him and Flash talking a little earlier, and...I don't know. Someone said something about 'hearing neon'."

MJ fully turned now, fixing Emma with an incredulous stare. "How the hell does someone _hear_ neon?"

Emma shrugged.

"You could ask?"

"Why bother, it was probably that idiot Flash who said it," MJ spat looking repulsed by the mentioned basketball star. "Pinhead probably thinks he's got some kind of superpower going on inside of him, god he is such a..." her voice became softer, the insults dying down and melding together making it difficult for Emma to understand.

Instead of dwelling on it Emma turned her attention forward, looking at where the teacher was addressing the class.

Oblivious to the conflict unfolding just one floor above them.

~/~

"You're weak. You always were and you always will be."

Harry sat on the other side of his father's hardwood, polished desk scoffing. Of course his father would spend the first half-hour of them seeing each after eight or so years by throwing insults. Norman's words grating on his last nerve, dredging up childhood memories of all the times his father would scold or lecture him; nothing he ever did was good enough.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you _boy_." Norman spat out, and Harry could see from the other side of the desk, those little green veins popping out along his father's neck-still concealed by his clothes-always taunting him; The Osborn curse as some have begun to call it.

Norman caught him staring and smiled, a cruel, vicious smile like one of the goblins from the stories his mother read to him as a child.

"Take a good look _son_ ," Norman reached up with one hand pulling his shirt and suit jacket down exposing more of the rotted and decaying flesh underneath. Harry felt he was going to be sick. "Incurable, they say. A disease unlike any other, terrifying, isn't it?"

Harry didn't respond at first, though the shine in his eyes was enough of a confirmation for Norman. "Why did you have me brought back after all this time?" Harry asked instead, keeping his tone neutral.

"Perhaps I...just wanted to be comforted by the company of my only remaining family; my blood relative." Norman said, his tone shifting to a much calmer and softer one. Only it didn't fool Harry, not one bit.

"You had _years_ for that," Harry cut in, his eyes cold and sharp much like his fathers. "I think we both know you're not that kind of father, or man for that matter." Norman looked at his son, a heavy silence blanketing the room.

"The Decay Rate Algorithm."

Harry laughed, shaking his head for a moment in disbelief. "Of course, that's the only reason you'd even bother after all this time..." He looked his father in the eye, offering a tight-lipped smile," but like I told you all those years ago I. Don't. Have. It."

Norman sat staring at his son with an eerily calm face before finally responding in a quiet tone, "and I believe you."

"Do you really?" Harry said, looking at the man who was all but on death's door now. Recalling how infuriated he had been all those years ago when the scientist in charge of the project had just up and disappeared without a trace, taking all his work-including the only supposed cure to Norman's disease-with him.

"There is something you should know though, about the curse-"

"You mean the disease."

"It's hereditary." Harry blinked no longer looking at Norman, but off to the side.

"I already know that." Harry said softly. "Don't you have anything of actual importance to say to me?"

"Just that...I'm glad you're finally back home, son." Norman said after another pause between words, throwing his son a completely unconvincing smile. "And that I look forward to our time together," he finished before descending into low, almost maniacal laughter just as Harry stood up to leave.

His son throwing him one last hateful glare before slamming the door shut on his way out.

Norman waited, still smiling afterwards before hitting a button on his phone.

" _Yes Mr. Osborn?_ " The receptionist answered.

"Tell Dr. Connors to commence human trials on the serum tonight. Let him know his first test subject has arrived." Norman said, looking towards the door with a truly evil glint entering his eyes. "That will be all."

* * *

 **Harry Osborn-** _Jeremy Irvine_

 **Norman Osborn-** _Chris Cooper_

 **Review. Hope you enjoyed!**


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